2013 MotoGP Thread

[tifosi1993]

Man, i missed seeing Rossi race like that, the doctor is back!

And still have that "voodoo effect" on the others.

[scuderiafan]

Shows how awful that Ducati must have been these past few years. Nicky, Dovi.....

[killer]

Marquez

[tifosi1993]

[scuderiafan]

And still have that "voodoo effect" on the others.

all but a certain J. Lorenzo

[Alessandra]

Amazing riding from Marquez and Rossi

Well done, Cal. As good as could be expected

[Massimo]

all but a certain J. Lorenzo

Agree, but let's wait what happens when Rossi starts on the front row, that's a battle i'm looking forward to

[Ste]

The podium in Qatar is probably the best (favourite) one I've ever seen. My three favourite riders!

So good to see Rossi back on form. It would've been interesting to see if he could've done anything about Lorenzo had he not made a mistake at the start. Lorenzo was as metronomic as ever and as for Marquez - wow. He's literally setting the sport alight. He's most definitely going to be a multiple World Champion if the team can provide him a decent bike.

[Rob]

So happy for Rossi, so glad that the 2 years at Duc not racing at the front wasnt blunted his race craft. Cal had good race, just went bit wide on the kerb into T1 and couldnt brake when he wanted.

Just shame Stoner not here anymore. If Rossi didnt make small error he could of been right there with Lorenzo and maybe won it.

[Tifoso]

So happy for Rossi, so glad that the 2 years at Duc not racing at the front wasnt blunted his race craft. Cal had good race, just went bit wide on the kerb into T1 and couldnt brake when he wanted.

Just shame Stoner not here anymore. If Rossi didnt make small error he could of been right there with Lorenzo and maybe won it.

Agreed.

[Tobes]

If Rossi didnt make small error he could of been right there with Lorenzo and maybe won it.

Not convinced that's the case, Rossi is a legend no question, and as a 5 time MotoGP Champion rightly so, but Lorenzo had the measure of him and beat him on equal machinery a couple of yrs ago at Yamaha before he went to Ducati, nothing he did on Sunday made me think that is no longer the case, I agree he looked much better, and so he should on the best bike in the field, but he was pushing the entire race, the fact he was out of fuel shows just how much, and Lorenzo strolled from flag to flag, he's very quick, consistent and very rarely makes a mistake, I think he's the most complete rider out there now...

Thought Marquez has bought the brilliance he showed in Moto2 with him into the GP class, wondered if he would dutifully follow Pedrosa but clearly he's there to win, Dovi put in a brilliant show on the Ducati, give him the machinery and he'll win races, am expecting him and Hayden to get some podiums this season as Audi pumps in the finances it needs to to succeed, and thought Cal was brilliant again, surely a works rider and future Champion...

[tifosi1993]

MCN interview with Valentino Rossi

[Suzie]

Enjoying MotoGP more and more in the past few seasons. The Moto2 was fantastic as well with Pol and Redding.
Would love to see Cal on the podium this year but it looks like it's going to be tough - great how he was able to stick with the 2 Hondas for the majority of the race though

[budaman]

Couple of pics from last weekends race at CoTA.

More to come as I get them downloaded.

[Suzie]

Couple of pics from last weekends race at CoTA.

More to come as I get them downloaded.

Oooh lucky you

[Rob]

Jerez MotoGP: Valentino Rossi plays down qualifying crash


By Toby Moody and Matt Beer Saturday, May 4th 2013, 16:12 GMT

Valentino Rossi does not think his heavy crash at the end of Jerez MotoGP qualifying will have any impact on his race prospects.

Rossi was one of several riders to fall in the closing moments of qualifying in Spain.

Although his Yamaha tumbled violently through the gravel at the quick Criville corner, Rossi was thrown clear and escaped unhurt.

"Unfortunately at the end I crashed at a fast corner, but luckily I am OK," he told reporters at Jerez.

"I had some damage on the bike but the important thing is that I'm well and I'm ready for tomorrow."

Rossi still held on to fifth on the grid, his best qualifying result since returning to Yamaha. He feels this is an ideal place to start a race expecting to be a tyre-wear challenge.

"It looks like the top five have a better pace compared to the other guys, so it will be crucial tomorrow to stay in the top five and to understand the rhythm that they can keep after the first four or five laps.

"At the beginning it will be a very high pace, but in the second part of the race it will be difficult to manage the tyres.

"It will be very important to work on the balance so the bike doesn't use the rear tyre too much."

Rossi's Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo took pole, and said he had been careful to avoid the sort of incidents that Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Cal Crutchlow suffered.

"I knew the track was difficult because there were a lot of crashes. So I said 'OK, I'm going to try my best in the conditions we have, and try to get a perfect lap,'" said Lorenzo.

"I didn't get it because I made mistakes in some braking areas and went wide but anyway it was still a very good lap and we have a pole position."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107205

[Rob]

Lorenzo on pole after dramatic Jerez qualifying

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Jorge Lorenzo has clinched his second pole position of the 2013 MotoGP™ season, topping an incident-packed qualifying session in Jerez on his 26th birthday. Dani Pedrosa, Marc Marquez, Cal Crutchlow and Valentino Rossi will fill positions two to five but all four riders have suffered falls this afternoon.
With the sun shining and thousands pouring into the Circuito de Jerez for the first European qualifying session of the year, the chance of a Spanish rider clinching pole appeared to be high. Ultimately, the front row was locked out by riders from the home nation, with Yamaha Factory Racing’s Lorenzo delivering a best lap time of 1’38.673 to see off Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) by just under three tenths of a second.

Although Lorenzo has looked extremely strong since the start of the weekend, he was aided by high-speed crashes which either disrupted or terminated his closest rivals’ sessions. Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) had tumbled in the final free practice session, whereas Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing) and Pedrosa’s errors came at almost the same moment as qualifying reached its climax. Crutchlow visited gravel traps in both sessions and was fortunate to rejoin the action and qualify fourth quickest.

Behind Rossi, the second row is completed by GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista who out-qualified Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl - who had progressed to the pole shootout from Q1 - and Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso. Avintia Blusens’ Hector Barbera led the CRT riders and impressed with a top ten grid position, but he too would be a crasher by the time the chequered flag flew.

11th place was an achievement for Andrea Iannone - as the Energy T.I. Pramac Racing rider had sustained cuts to his left leg in a free practice accident - while Tech 3’s Bradley Smith had been the last man to enter Q2. That left Power Electronics Aspar out of the shootout for the first time in 2013 to the disappointment of Aleix Espargaro, who will start 13th from Ducati wildcard Michele Pirro and Aspar teammate Randy de Puniet.

Row 6 will consist of Blusens’ Hiroshi Aoyama, Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci and Gresini’s Bryan Staring on the team’s CRT machine. The NGM Mobile Forward Racing attack will be spearheaded by Claudio Corti from 19th spot, out-qualifying 20th-placed Colin Edwards who crashed in Q1. The grid is completed by PBM pairing Yonny Hernandez and Michael Laverty, plus Lukas Pesek whose Ioda bike was yet another to end the afternoon off the circuit.

Cardion AB Motoracing were not in action for qualifying, as Karel Abraham’s broken right collarbone brought too much pain on Friday. Also on the sidelines is Ignite Pramac Racing’s Ben Spies, who since the race in Texas has been advised by doctors to rest in order to rectify an ongoing problem with a pectoral muscle.

Sunday’s 27-lap Gran Premio bwin de España begins at 2pm local time (GMT +2).

[Suzie]

Quali was mad - Cal, Vale and Dani all crashing within minutes of one another. Should be a good race tomorrow!

Ah well, might as well enjoy MotoGP while I can as I sure as hell won't be getting BT Vision to watch it next year

[Rob]

Quali was mad - Cal, Vale and Dani all crashing within minutes of one another. Should be a good race tomorrow!

Ah well, might as well enjoy MotoGP while I can as I sure as hell won't be getting BT Vision to watch it next year

What, BT Vision? what going on there then Suzie?

Didnt see quali, but just reading what happened. Were they big crashes?

Gemmas Grandma over from Phoenix, and its her birthday tomorrow so big meal at pub. Going to miss it, i will record it or catch it on Eurosport later.

[Suzie]

What, BT Vision? what going on there then Suzie?

Didnt see quali, but just reading what happened. Were they big crashes?

Gemmas Grandma over from Phoenix, and its her birthday tomorrow so big meal at pub. Going to miss it, i will record it or catch it on Eurosport later.

Cal's was pretty big, yeah. He took quite a tumble, had to have ultrasounds afterwards but is okay for the most part.

There's strong rumours that BBC and Eurosport have lost the rights to show MotoGP as of the end of this season - I've read that BT Vision are going to announce they are taking it over sometime in the coming week. I'm gutted, I really can't afford to pay to watch it when I am already paying more to see F1 these days as well Just have to hope the BBC or Eurosport work out some deal like with F1 whereby they can show extended highlights.

[Rob]

Cal's was pretty big, yeah. He took quite a tumble, had to have ultrasounds afterwards but is okay for the most part.

There's strong rumours that BBC and Eurosport have lost the rights to show MotoGP as of the end of this season - I've read that BT Vision are going to announce they are taking it over sometime in the coming week. I'm gutted, I really can't afford to pay to watch it when I am already paying more to see F1 these days as well Just have to hope the BBC or Eurosport work out some deal like with F1 whereby they can show extended highlights.

Really? im really surprised by that, especially Eurosport. BBC, seems like they not to eager to keep big sports. Real shame. Im just surprised at that mate

Good to hear that Cal is ok. Clear to race then?

[Suzie]

Yep he's fine to race, footage at the end showed him holding his back and they were worried about kidney pain but he'll be riding tomorrow.
Not good for my nerves though!

[budaman]

Good race.....don't want to spoil for those that haven't been able to watch yet.

[Alessandra]

Good race.....don't want to spoil for those that haven't been able to watch yet.

OK.......but , trying not to give anything away, has a penalty been served on a certain rider as the commentators indicated might happen? On the last lap?

[budaman]

Not that I've been able to find.

[Rob]

Pedrosa celebrates first win of 2013 in Spain
Sunday, 5 May 2013

Dani Pedrosa has clinched his maiden victory of this year’s MotoGP™ World Championship, winning the Gran Premio bwin de España on Sunday. It was another one-two finish for Repsol Honda Team after Marc Marquez dived past Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo for second place at the final corner.
The Circuito de Jerez welcomed a huge crowd as the first European race of the season took place. Lorenzo had been the rider to beat for much of the weekend, comfortably sealing his second pole position of the season on Saturday. He would share the front row with the Honda duo, with Pedrosa knowing that a quick start would be vital.

Confirming Lorenzo’s worst fears, Pedrosa overtook as the 27-lap race began. The lead was immediately snatched back, but Pedrosa made the move stick as he passed at Dry Sack on Lap 6. As the Yamaha rider dropped into the clutches of Marquez, Pedrosa maintained a steady pace en route to his first win since Valencia last year.

Marquez’s race was a dramatic one, having entered as the joint championship leader with Lorenzo. Having quickly demoted Valentino Rossi to fourth place after the Yamaha rider overtook at the end of Lap 1, the 20-year-old charged up to the back of Lorenzo and attempted several different lines in a bid to distract the current title holder. The eventual move ironically came at the newly-named Jorge Lorenzo corner at the end of the very last lap, with Lorenzo left fuming after contact was made.

Once dispatched by Marquez, Rossi had a lonely ride to fourth place on the second Yamaha Factory bike, with Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow overcoming GO&FUN Honda Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista for a top five spot at the end of a difficult weekend which featured two sizeable accidents on Saturday. Ducati Team duo Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso made the top eight while test rider Michele Pirro enjoyed a strong first ride of the campaign to 11th on the squad’s GP13 Lab chassis.

Hector Barbera and Avintia Blusens’ impressed by qualifying tenth on the lead CRT machine, but on race day the Spaniard fell to 12th as Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro took CRT honours for the third time in as many races, finishing ninth from Tech 3’s Bradley Smith. As Blusens’ Hiroshi Aoyama tumbled to 18th in the closing stages, Michael Laverty scored the first points for PBM’s own-built bike by coming home 13th and ahead of Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci and NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards, who also scored for the first time in 2013.

Five riders failed to make the end of the race, notably Stefan Bradl who compounded a tough three days for himself and LCR Honda MotoGP. The German, like Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone, retired on the fourth lap. Iannone’s teammate Ben Spies did not compete, advised by doctors to rest and solve a problem with a pectoral muscle, while Cardion AB Motoracing’s Karel Abraham pulled out after Friday due to suffering too much pain with his broken right collarbone.

In the World Championship, Marquez becomes the sole leader just three races into his premier class career. He now leads teammate Pedrosa by three points (61 to 58), with Lorenzo just a further one in arrears. Rossi and Crutchlow complete the top five while Espargaro has extended his CRT advantage to ten points over Barbera.

After witnessing three different winners in the first three races, the season continues with Round 4 in two weeks’ time, as the MotoGP™ community returns to legendary Le Mans for the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France.

[Rob]

Jerez MotoGP: Marc Marquez apologises to Jorge Lorenzo for clash


Sunday, May 5th 2013, 13:56 GMT

Marc Marquez has apologised to MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo for their collision on the final lap of the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez.

The two Spaniards clashed at the final corner of the race as Marquez attacked Lorenzo for second place.

The incident forced Lorenzo off the track, but he did make it to the finish in third.

Marquez tried to apologise to Lorenzo in parc ferme, but the world champion wagged his finger at the rookie before turning away.

"I say sorry to Jorge because you never want that," said Marquez. "In the end the most important thing is that we both finished the race so I think it was a nice battle for the fans.

"On the last lap I did 110 per cent, and when I saw in the last corner that Jorge opened a little bit the door, then I go in."

Marquez added that he had seen footage of similar clashes at the same corner in the past, such as Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau in 2005.

"Many times something similar has happened there," he said. "I learned from the videos and I tried to do my best."

Lorenzo refused to comment on the clash immediately after the race, claiming "it's better not to say anything" before later admitting that he felt he had made an error in allowing Marquez a chance to attack.

"I only did two mistakes," he said. "The first one was the start, and then in the last corner for not closing the door a little bit more.

"Anyway I am happy. I think we did a good race with the bike we have and I did my best."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/107224

[Alessandra]

Not that I've been able to find.

Looks like no penalty then - and from Rob's reports above.
I didn't think it was cut and dried anyway; 50/50 really. Marquez is actually heading up the drivers' championship now - pretty amazing!

Good drive by Cal considering his injuries from quali. An Alonso-esque ride from Pedrosa; brave piece of overtaking early on and then a perfectly controlled drive from there to the end.
Good race all round.

[Suzie]

Really happy for Dani, he's taken some stick after being beaten by Marquez in the first two races.
Good race - Marc did barge his way past to be fair but no-one was taken out. After some of the stuff he did in Moto2 it was only a matter of time before we saw the same type of thing in the premier class!

Happy for Cal too, considering he must have been in a hell of a lot of pain.

[Suzie]

Cracking race today! Won't spoil it for any watchers of delayed coverage.